Another couple of options for a day-trip: head east. The town of Julian is up in the mountains, there’s a possibility of snow on the ground and some nice scenery in the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains. A bit farther away lies Anza-Borrego State Park, with more great natural beauty, and a large hot tub fed by hot springs at Agua Caliente County Park. On the way, there’s the classic roadside attraction, the Deset Tower.
The seals are there year-round. They sit there, people gather to stare. I wouldn’t make a separate trip for them, but if you’re in or near La Jolla anyway, I’d check them out.
I’ve always been partial to the Torrey Pines beach. Boardwalk-style would be the Mission Beach area, which also has a neat old roller coaster. I’m trying to remember where some good tidepools are. What are you looking for in a beach?
Wow, is that old amusement park still there? When I was there (around 1969 or 1970) they also had what was called a Wild Mouse…another roller coaster that had little individual cars holding no more than 4 people running over the tracks. It scared the bejesus out of me when I rode it then.
Being nit-picky, but that is actually the county administration building, not San Diego city hall. City hall is inland, towards the core of the downtown area.
There are tidepools out by the Cabrillo Monument in Pt Loma. You need to check the charts, though or you might be disappointed. There isn’t much in the way of a beach there, though.
Is there one with seals, a boarwalk, and tidepools? I guess we’re really looking for something clean, not terribly crowded, where we can roll up our jeans (is December shorts weather, still?) and splash around in the surf or walk around checking out things we wouldn’t normally see in NE Pennsylvania. We were thinking about maybe taking along a picnic lunch, and just seeing what there is to see with no real agenda. A boardwalk with nearby tidepools sounds just about perfect.
I expect any time in San Diego is shorts weather, especially if you come from NEPA. You might want a light jacket or sweater at nighttime, though.
If you go to the childrens pool in La Jolla, you will see seals, then walk along the sidewalk to the beach cove ppl swim from and if you go down these stairs there are big rocks where you can tidepool as well or you can drive to la jolla shores beach which has a proper boardwalk and you can tide pool just pass the scripps pier where there are big rocks there and a long beach. You can also rent kayaks from the shores beach. For like $70 your daughter can get a private one hour lesson from surf diva (on avienda de la playa) and learn how to surf, they provide the wetsuit and board and it is fun to do at the shores beach.
You might try the Pt Loma/Ocean Beach area. Out at the monument there are relatively pristine tidepools. Ocean Beach is still a semi-holdout from the sixties. At the base of Newport Street there is a fishing pier (not exactly a boardwalk, but still fun) and a beach with a few (well trampled) tidepools. Along the street there are lots of funky and inexpensive restaurants (Mexican, Portuguese, Japanese, etc.), and shops. On Wednesday afternoons/evenings there is a Farmer’s Market that also offers stuff liked cooked food, jewelry and crafts and llama rides. No guaranteed seals but if you go to Sea World or on a Harbor cruise, you’ll see plenty of those. This area is also quite close to Seaworld and downtown.
A few unusual entries since all the big stuff has been mentioned.
Stand outside the Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park and watch an arriving plane fly directly overhead as it lands. BTW, does anyone know if that’s a coincidence or did they put the museum right there on purpose?
If you like dogs, go to Ocean Beach, where dogs are allowed to run off-leash at all hours. But this may be seasonal.
If you like tennis, go to the tennis courts on Draper Avenue in La Jolla. No guarantees or schedules, but anytime I’ve been there, I was able to watch world class players practicing.
Go to Coronado, just south of the Hotel Coronado is where Navy SEALS train. You may be able to watch them. Again, no guarantees.
Drive around Cardiff by the Sea. visuallly very attractive and interesting.
Since you’re concerned about keeping costs down, there’s a great restaurant around Solano Beach, on the beach, which has a very cheap early bird special on Sunday. Sunset views possible. Ask around, you’ll find it.
Forgot to mention, there was a classic movie filmed at Hotel Coronado. Should be easy to find. May be fun to watch it before you go.